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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24704527">Pray for the wicked</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mallior/pseuds/Mallior'>Mallior</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Triptych of Shadows [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Author is salty, Blood and Gore, Canon Divergence - Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Dark Tony Stark, M/M, Murder, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Beta Read, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, body parts, no beta we die like men, not team Cap friendly, not that dark!, strong canon divergence, that was an understatement...</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:13:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,124</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24704527</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mallior/pseuds/Mallior</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Maybe it was luck, maybe it was fate, but Barton stumbled into the kitchen, oblivious to the presence behind his back. The Soldier grinned viciously behind the mask on his face as he stepped to the archer, metal hand wrapping around the man’s throat…"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Triptych of Shadows [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1164452</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>317</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Continuation/ending of the Triptych series. Even bloodier that those stories were. You've been warned. </p><p>Recommended music: Blue Saraceno - Evil Ways (Justice Mix)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If James was honest, the last few months were more chaotic than the first few after leaving HYDRA.</p><p>It started with Rogers and Romanov's „visit”, continued with them trying to break into the penthouse levels and almost ended with four more bodies to hide. Although Tony said it should have been child’s play for him…</p><p> </p><p>The whole thing ended with Rogers and his merry band moving back into the compound at Fort Tilden, Rhodes politely warning them if they tried to break into the Tower <em>again</em>, Miss Potts and Stark Industries would press charges.</p><p> </p><p>James met Miss Potts well into his association with Tony and she was one of the most intimidating women he ever met. Including the <em>whole</em> Black Widow program, and the few in HYDRA’s rank. Watching her stalk through the penthouse on heels capable of puncturing a human skull after the idiots reappearance made James glad he wasn’t the one to anger her.</p><p> </p><p>Of course, when he made the Tower as his base of operation she had a talk with him, stating the fact if he ever hurt or used Tony in a way that hurt him or Stark Industries, Winter Soldier or not, he would disappear permanently. James believed every word, she and Rhodes were formidable people to be able stay with Tony for decades.</p><p> </p><p>―――</p><p> </p><p>James never planned setting a foot in the compound, but his plans flew out of the window, when coming back from cleaning out a HYDRA base only to find Tony pacing in his workshop like a caged tiger. In one hand, he flipped one of his black bladed knives, the other held an ice pack to his face.</p><p> </p><p>„JARVIS? What the hell happened?” he asked, still standing outside the workshop’s glass door.</p><p> </p><p>„Sir, was called to the compound by Captain Rogers, citing Avengers related business, but it evolved into a ’blame game’ as the Captain and Agent Barton started accusing Sir of brainwashing you and neglecting to help the remaining SHIELD agents after Miss Romanov’s file dump. Sir tried to leave, but Agent Barton grabbed him, it only gained him a broken wrist and a black eye for Sir. Captain Rogers tried to intervene and got shot with a toned down repulsor blast.”</p><p>JARVIS sounded a little bit smug, dark amusement curling in his artificial voice.</p><p> </p><p>„Is Tony okay? When he got back?” James felt his metal arm reaching for the bowie knife Tony made for him.</p><p> </p><p>„Sir got back just a few minutes before you. His injury is only a bruising. He also is waiting for you.” The glass door slid open and the angry, pounding music filled the small foyer.</p><p> </p><p>Tony didn’t stop his pacing, the knife never stilling. It was partly mesmerizing, partly distressing to watch. The engineer had an aura of lethal grace, his hand sure and steady, never missing a beat, but his other hand held the ice pack to his face. It hurt to see him injured, even if it was a small one.</p><p> </p><p>James carefully stepped into the man’s field of vision, not wanting to startle him and not wanting a knife embedded into his ribcage. Tony stopped as soon as he had seen him, body going still. JARVIS lowered the volume on the music.</p><p> </p><p>„Hey. How is the eye? Do you need any help?” James asked, hands and posture relaxed, voice calm.</p><p> </p><p>He could see in Tony’s dark eyes he was still in survival mode. The dark gaze jumped from his face to his neck and shoulders, to his hands, to the holster on his thigh. It took a few breathless seconds for Tony to relax, for the black ice melt a little from his eyes, shoulders loosing some of the tension.</p><p> </p><p>„Hey. To be honest, I’m not sure if I want help. I can make buildings go boom by myself just fine. Sadly, Pepper said it’s not the building’s fault, so no boom, I should find a less destructive way.”</p><p> </p><p>His posture slumped a little as he put the knife and the ice pack down onto a workbench. James stepped next to him, arms slowly, carefully wrapping around the engineer’s shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>Warm breath tickled the left side of his neck as Tony burrowed into the embrace.</p><p> </p><p>„Why don’t we go and hide on the couch with the blankets. A nap would be nice.” James murmured into the messy, dark brown locks. He could use the rest and it would be a good time to plan ahead…</p><p> </p><p>―――</p><p> </p><p>It was laughably easy to get into the compound undetected. Partly because James knew the security system - thanks to JARVIS - and partly because the so-called Avengers were way too sure no one would dare to attack them in their own base.</p><p>He just shook his head at Romanov’s arrogance, because he remembered teaching her about base security.</p><p> </p><p>Yet, now the Winter Soldier stood in the Avengers kitchen just a little after 2 AM and there was not a person in sight, no alarm, nothing. He just pulled a bowie knife – made by Tony – intending to walk to Barton’s room, when footsteps appeared moving toward the kitchen. The Soldier silently stepped into the shadows by the door and waited for the person to appear.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe it was luck, maybe it was fate, but Barton stumbled into the kitchen, oblivious to the presence behind his back. The Soldier grinned viciously behind the mask on his face as he stepped to the archer, metal hand wrapping around the man’s throat…</p><p> </p><p>―――</p><p> </p><p>Tony Stark was <em>not</em> a morning person. Yet James Barnes – Icicle Prince of Tony’s dark little heart – liked leaving gifts and interesting things for Tony to find in the morning when he got back late from a HYDRA raid.</p><p>There was a relatively large pack, wrapped in silver, red and black striped paper, tied together with the black, high tensile cord. Seeing the cord made Tony shiver with anticipation. Every time James used that as a ribbon, it promised being one of the best gifts he ever got from the man.</p><p> </p><p>Under the wrapping paper, he found one of his secure lockbox, chilled to the touch, coded to his thumbprint. The lid opened with a hiss and wow… This was hands down – pun so fuckin’ intended – James best arrangement so far.</p><p> </p><p>On ice bed was a pair of hands, from wrist down, holding a human heart on the palms. Tony had a memory good enough to remember, he designed the glove on the left hand… for Barton.</p><p> </p><p>“JARVIS? Cross Barton off Pepper’s list and tell me where is James. I really hope it’s a room with a comfortable flat surface.” Who needs coffee when he gets gifts like this and can have James?</p><p> </p><p>“Agent Barton removed from the secondary list and James is waiting for you on his floor.”</p><p> </p><p>―――</p><p> </p><p>James watched carefully the security feed. Rogers was pacing in the conference room, on a nearby chair was Romanov, face and posture deceptively calm, the exact opposite of the Captain.</p><p> </p><p>On the other side of the long table Tony sat, barely suppressing a feigned yawn, making James grin.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you have anything else to accuse me or I can go back to the workshop? I have a few deadlines this week and Pepper will strangle me if I miss them.” The engineer said and started to get up.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t be overdramatic Tony, no one is accusing you. We just wanted to ask a few questions, maybe you know something about Clint’s disappearance. It’s not really him to vanish without a word. And following that thought, we wanted to ask you for help. You and JARVIS has access to a lot of street and security cameras, maybe you could track him-“</p><p> </p><p>“And you just wanna stop here. You came to me not so subtly asking if made him disappear, after deciding I didn’t do anything, you have the gall to ask for my time and resources to find a so-called teammate who hit me when I wasn’t quick enough to clean up the mess you made, Agent Romanov. The answer is no. If you want to find him, go ahead and search for him, use your own resources, time and money.” Tony interrupted Romanov.</p><p> </p><p>“I never thought you would be such a cold hearted bastard. Howard is turning in his grave.” Rogers growled, face darkening in anger.</p><p> </p><p>Tony blinked at the man, then started laughing. James was familiar with that laugh and it still made him shudder.</p><p> </p><p>“That was a good one, Rogers. Howard is spinning in his grave since I took over Stark Industries and made it more successful than he ever dreamed it. But of course, that doesn’t matter. The answer is still no.”</p><p>Tony got up from his chair and started picking up his phone and tablet.</p><p> </p><p>“This ego flexing is not helping anyone, Tony. You and Steve should sit down and talk it out. Your argument with Clint shouldn’t be a stumbling block. If you just-” Romanov walked up to Tony, leaning against the table, face vulnerable and open.</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me one more time to ignore what is practically abuse and can be punished with jail time and a restriction order, I dare you.” Tony interrupted her.</p><p> </p><p>“I let Fury rope me into his harebrained scheme once, so I would build you lot a base and he could go back into the shadows of his little spy organization. It cost me a lot of money and time, endangered the employees of SI and I had to renovate my Tower three times. Also, I hate strangers in my living place, especially entitled assholes who think, just because I pick up the phone when they call, they have access to me, my resources and my patience. By the way, this overly fake show you are putting on, is transparent as glass, Agent Romanov. I thought a Black Widow could be more convincing, but my bad. You know where the door is, have a nice day.”</p><p> </p><p>The engineer left the conference room without a scratch, which was a small miracle. If Romanov’s look could kill, along with Rogers glaring, Tony should be dead by now…</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Yet there he was, carrying Romanov’s lifeless and almost bloodless body to the garage."</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>James didn’t plan to kill Romanov, if he was honest. Tony wasn’t a damsel in distress, who needed his protection from everyone – even if he sometimes felt the urge to kill every person who looked at him in the wrong way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yet there he was, carrying Romanov’s lifeless and almost bloodless body to the garage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>JARVIS alerted him of an intruder - barely a week after Tony and the spider’s argument - in the darkest hour of the night, when the engineer was in Tokyo. Ghosting through the Tower, rifle in hand, he found Romanov near Tony’s workshop, trying to gain access one of the vents. She tried to disable JARVIS - the AI whispered into his earpiece - and he let her believe it was a success. The Soldier just shook his head silently, he didn’t remember to train fools, yet there she was… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took a moment to think about what to do, but in the end, he simply lifted the rifle Tony made for him and shot Romanov in the neck. The high caliber slug almost severed her head, painting the off-white corridor wall red.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry for the mess, JARVIS. I’ll need some bleach, a scrub brush, cold water, a bucket and a can of this paint.” James said as he picked up the Black Widow’s body and started walking toward the elevator.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Leave it to me, Sir. I recommend using the older model Ford truck in the garage, that can be easily cleaned. Thank you for your assistance.” JARVIS said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the other side of the planet, Tony Stark’s phone pinged with the distinct sound of his AI using a secure line. He picked the phone up with a curious smile. That smile morphed into an almost feral grin as he watched James practically decapitate Romanov with a single bullet, with the rifle he built for the man. JARVIS crossed her off Tony’s list.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>―――</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was sadly comical to watch, as Rogers tried to storm the Tower, only to be stopped by a small, pretty receptionist lady. Romanov was missing for 48 hours, Tony was still in Tokyo and James already packed, to start another clean up mission in Washington. He watched the security feed with cold indifference. He remembered Steve Rogers before his fall from the train, before Erskine’s serum and the man currently in Stark Tower’s lobby had nothing common with the one in his memories. Wasn’t better than the bullies he loved to fight in the forties…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James dismissed the feed with a simple gesture, grabbed his duffle bag and the small black backpack Tony made for him, said goodbye to JARVIS and left the building.</span>
</p>
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